On the 5.7 , is it recommended to flush the transmission? Any issues after that?

I believe Toyota has given up the "lifetime fluid" jargon.

 

When I bought the 19' the salesman said to change it at 100k, right after the warranty ends so I guess Toyota expects it to last at least 100k and doesn't want to pay for changes during the free maintenance period. I do some light towing so i'm probably going to do it every 50k

Anyone know about how much a dealership charges to do it? Or I guess for better reference the standard number of hours and the cost of the OEM fluid?

 

Never trust salesmen...

I was quoted $250 for the change but I've seen people quoted less and more. I think it varies widely.

Since you have a 19, you shouldn't have to consider it for a few years. I've read they've changed the 19 to us the radiator for cooling the fluid. The procedure and need might be different for the 19.

I definitely wouldn't go past 60,000

 

The toyota fluid on Amazon is 10 bucks a quart, same as dealership, unless you buy bigger quantities. I ordered 6 and it came down to just over 8 a quart. Not too bad

 

Jeez, where's the Million Mile guy when you need to ask him about his trans fluid etiquette?

Same here. For some reason, I could just never get a confident reading on an ATF dipstick. I always felt like the dipstick would bang around in the dipstick tube, and muck up the reading. And it doesn't help the fluid is so transparent when thin. Ugh. I hate ATF so much. The smell, how it gets everywhere, the texture, and how it's hard to read.

Just a guy who works on cars but don't know how they work.
Try this: the more you talk to a mechanic, and ask them questions about how a car works, the less you trust them.
Pretty much every mechanic I've ever talked to is basically clueless, they just don't know it.
Which is fine. Mechanics and engineers are two different people. They are both valuable, and can make good money. But don't confuse the two.

Not saying this about all mechanics, but definitely a pattern I've undeniably noticed.
Again, it's fine! I don't need to know how a lawn mower works to mow the lawn. I just need to keep the blade sharpened for a nice cut.
BUT, it definitely does help.

So what happens when the impeller breaks, but the housing doesn't leak?

Pretty bad advice...

I'm with ya.
This 'drain and fill' every 3k miles is beyond me. Do it proper and leave it alone for 25-30k miles.

Always such silly debate about transmissions because nobody knows how they work. Automatic transmissions, especially, are just some spooky magic to most people.
Just a bunch of clutches and hydraulic fluid.

I agree. I thought that's what was going to happen in the video linked around here somewhere. Seems common sense to me... Have the outlet hose drain into the pan, and add new fluid in through a funnel on the inlet hose at approximately the same rate. Wait until outlet fluid looks clean and fresh. Then fine-tune fluid level with the check-level plug.
Not sure why the video made it so complicated.
Really got me confused when it said "use trans cooler hose to drain amount equal to amount drained from pan"
wut? Why would those 2 amounts correlate? Not sure if I logically missed something, but I would just add up the 2 amounts of waste fluid and add that much new fluid rather than trying to match them.

What if I told you...it's all just hydraulic fluid

"The internal combustion engine is the same as it always has been."
Wow...you actually couldn't possible be more wrong if you tried.

Oil change intervals have increased greatly for several reasons. The reason that oil needs to be changed isn't actually because the oil wears out. Oil needs to be changed because of the junk/dirt that collects in it - mainly blow-by. Gasoline dilutes the lubrication properties of oil, so the more blow-by an engine makes, the more often you need to change the oil. Modern engines are designed and manufactured to such high tolerances that combustion blow-by has decreased significantly. Much tighter seal between the piston rings and the cylinder walls. Additionally, I'm sure that oil formulations have improved as well.

The same is true for human respiration, by the way. The reason we take a breath isn't because our blood is depleted of oxygen. Actually, blood oxygen level is pretty consistent at about 96% or higher. We need to exhale because of the CO2 levels in our blood. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is an acid, and quickly causes the blood to become too acidic, so we must breathe out and exhale it, but the actual amount of oxygen in our blood is still adequate.


I do agree about being nice to your transmission. Change the fluid regularly. 60k miles seems reasonable.
Also, yes, I agree that older/higher-mileage transmission should be paid more attention due to potentially worn/wearing out clutch packs

 

The internal combustion engine has improved, but not changed.

Oil also captures moisture, in addition to junk/dirt as you forgot that one on your list for me.

Back on topic, there is nothing wrong with frequent transmission oil ‘drain and fill’ changes. In my case, a gallon of DEXIII costs about $12-14 and is changed at the same engine oil interval change.

The OP asked about ‘flushes’. You’ll never need to ‘flush’ if you ‘drain and fill’ on a regular basis because the fluid stays fortified.

Another thing to consider is heavy service on a vehicle considering towing, hauling, city driving and high ambient heat (summer) driving.

Why wait so long to change fluids? There is no upside.

 

Thanks for the great video. I agree the regular "drain and fill" is just as good as a flush since the new fluid is flushing the old. Never completely new but good enough... imho.

 

That once was largely true many years ago. Many power steering system ran ATF.

Today. I'm not going to put brake fluid or power steering fluid in my transmission...

 

Just my .02 but I did Drain and Fill as many have said here after 100K... the truck had an issue ( not related) at 210K and the Toyota Tech ( Shop Foreman) dropped the pan... he was looking up at tranny and said it was one on the cleanest Trannys he has ever seen...

Just do Drain and fill ONLY.... right around 4 qts of Toyota WS fluid ( got mine on Amazon)

 

Do that 3 times total running the engine 30 seconds before each one....and drain about a half a quart in the temp check and you've changed it all......

 

As with asteroids big as a state hitting the earth, changing the axis of rotation, and ending life as we know it...maintenance engineers have to go with what's MOST likely.

The mechanic that told him that bs was not giving an honest opinion based on experience...he was trying to generate additional parts-changing money for himself. The water pump on a 5.7L is outside of the timing cover, and does not need to changed as preventative maintenance. If the owner plans to ignore the inevitable leakage that will occur prior to failure, then as witnessed by a recent thread, they are well-advised to change 5.7L water pumps every 50K miles in my opinion.

How often in your vast automotive experience have you observed a water pump impeller BREAKING? Have you ever actually observed this, and what was the mechanism of failure? Did foreign material lodge in the impeller vane passages stopping impeller rotation? Was there sudden centrifugal over stress from excessive rotational speed? Material defect? The first two are virtually impossible, and with sound design engineering, the third is highly unlikely in the case of Toyota.

There is no contact between a centrifugal (water) pump impeller and it's housing. Centrifugal pumps fail due to impending shaft bearing failure, which results in shaft vibration, which causes mechanical seal failure, which is revealed by leakage. This mechanism is so predictable that the engineers provide a tattle-tale "weep hole" specifically for that purpose. THAT is unchanging.

Sorry, but you wouldn't know "pretty bad advice" if it bit you in the azz.

 

Guys

I’ve been a Toyota mechanic for 15+ years. There is so much MISinformation out there. Let me set set the record straight.

Changing the trans fluid is VERY important. Regardless what the manufacturer/ dealer says, you must change the trans fluid on every car out there. This is getting more and more complicated as time goes on, but it still must be done. The newer Tundras / Sequoias are surprisingly easy to do. The pan has both a drain plug and a fill plug (and a level check plug). One option is to simply drain out as much fluid as you can, measure the amount that comes out and simply refill the same EXACT amount. Now this method is only accurate if you don’t have any trans leaks. You should get about 2.5qts out doing this. The whole system holds 12 qts so obviously you are only getting a small portion of the fluid. If you go this route, you’ll have to do this procedure about five times. Each time refilling, starting the engine, running the trans through all the gears to get it up to temp and repeating. This is a very safe method, but will take a long time. However, if you are going to do the job yourself, this is the best way. I would recommend doing this every 60K miles. Then at the 120K interval, throw in a filter change as well. Surprisingly, these trucks are easy to drop the pan on because all the bolts are very accessible. Once the pan is off, be sure to clean the heck out of it - there are magnets in the pan that can simply be wiped off, but most importantly, make sure the pan mating surface is 100% clean - no old gasket residue leftover. You may need to use a razor blade to scrape it all off. Be very careful not to scape into the metal itself. Use lots of brake clean (for the pan/ don’t spray the valve body). Once the pan is clean, replace the filter and O-ring, and button everything back up. The bolts can simply be hand tightened, don’t over-torque. In order to fill to the proper level, you will need a scan tool to read the trans temp. (A cheap Autel will work fine). If you don’t want to buy the scanner, then you must have a shop adjust the fluid level so it’s spot on. This is very important to be accurate. If you do this at the 60k & 120k mileages, the transmission will last the life of the truck - guaranteed. I’ve got 175k on my Sequoia and she runs and shifts like new.

 

The trans temp should be 99 - 111 degrees F before opening the fluid overflow plug.
Then checking the fluid level is just like checking the rear diff fluid - once it starts to "trickle out" it's good.

 

Not to disagree entirely. Just my penny....

I have 2014 Tundra and I got 3.5 quarts in first drain and 4 quarts each additional drain after adding 4 quarts the first time. When I did the temp check I drained 1/2 quart. Which put me right back at the first drain of 3.5 quarts.

Newer models can use the "flashing D" method to know when the transmission comes up to temp. Which is very fast. Faster than you think. Just a couple to few minutes of running.

There have been many many people that have snapped bolts trying to take the pan off these transmissions with factory torque specs used. I have no plans to drop my pan ever. Unless there is a problem. A "screen" filter doesn't collect much and it certainly doesn't restrict flow. Not that I've ever seen.

I would never tell someone to tighten a bolt "hand tight" and leave it.

 

I just did a pan drain an fill on my 2017 (50K Miles)got about 3.5 qts. I will do this every 20K from now on.

 

I learned a long time ago Torque wrenches are the secret to good DIY maintenance

 

Guys,

I'm an ASE Master tech and work for a Toyota specialty shop. I know these vehicles very well.

Here is the torque spec on the trans pan bolts:

Torque .................... 7.4 Nm (75 kgf-cm, 65 in-lbf)

At 65 inch-pounds, I simply hand tighten every one I do. (I've probably done a few hundred filter changes and never had a come back).

I've never head of anyone snapping bolts off when removing the pan. Now, over-torquing upon pan installation can happen for sure. Just be careful.

As far as the filter goes, it is more than just a simple screen. This is a filter element that holds dirt and metal shavings and can clog over time. As easy as it is to change, there really is no good reason not to.

Beck / Arnely makes a nice kit - part # 044-0396. This is what our shop uses.

 

All fluids (even air!) capture moisture when experiencing certain conditions.
Engine oil absolutely captures moisture when it cools and condensation forms on the interior of the engine. This is normal, and an extremely small amount in comparison to the oil reservoir in the engine. Additionally, what does water do when it gets hot? It boils. When the engine reaches operating temperature (which might not adequately happen for very short trips!), the moisture is boiled and the steam is evacuated from the oil, so it's the same as it was before.

I agree that vibrations, primarily caused by worn or abused bearings, are a main cause of fatigue and failure of machines. The same unwanted shaft vibration that causes the water pump housing to be compromised could also fatigue the impeller blades and help them develop stress cracks.

Yep! As I've gotten older, I've gotten more responsible with my wrenchin'. Started using a little bit of anti-seize here, some loctite there, started reading formal repair manuals, and then...finally started to actually abide by specific torque specs.

I will admit, torque specs for transmission pan bolts are typically extremely low, but I'd NEVER leave it hand tight. It's often something like hand-tighten it, then use a 1/4 drive and use your pinky finger to tighten another 1/3 turn. Sometimes like 13ft-lbs.
I've been extremely careful with transmission pan bolts, trying to use OEM torque specs, and still had them back-out and cause the whole pan to leak.

 

I agree. Again, people being silly with myths and what not, "bolts rust and mine will break when I remove the pan! So I'm just never gonna change the filter!"
I suppose it's possible for bolts to rust, but the threads are likely sealed from weather. Probably more likely to experience dissimilar metal corrosion though, tbh. If forced to give an answer, I'd assume the transmission body is aluminum, with fasteners pretty much always being steel.
I wonder if they would take the same approach with their engine oil filter though. "It's just put on so tight, I'm scared I'll strip it if I try to replace the oil filter, so I'll just never do it!"

Personally, I would prefer to not drop another ATF pan in my life, but I wouldn't vow "I'm never doing it". I would drain fluid and evaluate the condition, while taking truck mileage into account.

I agree, an entire service of dropping the pan is likely less than 30 minutes if using a lift.
Drain fluid.
Use a power ratchet to remove the 16 bolts (probably 10mm from my experience with other Japanese vehicles).
Remove pan.
Remove gasket. (Btw Is it rubber? Looks like a very friendly fat rubber gasket in the Beck/Arnley kit)
New gasket, and re-assemble, and re-fill.

And yes, I'm sure people have an odd tendency to over-tighten. It's tempting. I haven't verified the torque spec of 65 INCH-pounds, but it is extremely low. So low it can be hard to measure even with the proper tool.

 

Yep. Can't use one that just lays around on the same setting all the time either.

I have no reason to lie about bolt braking off. Maybe search other Tundra forums. Not too many people come here to talk about their issues with Tundras. At least not that I can tell compared to other forums.

I've never held a filter in my hand for a Tundra. I have heard it referenced as a "Screen filter" many times. I've handled them over the years from other manufactures. Just a loose wire mesh. It is hard for me to believe that you'll starve the transmission of fluid if you don't change these types of filter. I mean we're talking about HUGE fluid pressures. Again. That is just my penny.

You must have some seriously intelligent hands. My hands can't tell when they have a bolt at 65 inch pounds. In fact, I bet my huge hands can't even tighten a bolt to 65 inch pounds anymore.

Just my experience. I do my own work because I don't trust "Specificity Toyota shops".

If I knew you were tighten the bolts "hand tight" on MY transmission at your shop......... Needless to say. You wouldn't hear about it. I'd be talking to the owner.

 

well Sundance, I'm not trying to tell you what to do. All I can say is that I do this for a living, and my kids eat, my wife doesn't work, and my mortgage is paid. Our shop is very successful with many long time, repeat customers, so I guess we're doing something right.

 

wait, it just dawned on me, that you think I tighten bolts "by hand" HA! not hardly - I use tools - you know, sockets and ratchets.

 

I was joking to a degree.

I know what you mean. I just expect a level of professionalism in using the proper tools.

 

I drained and filled my trans fluid at 70k in the summer of 2018. Drained and filled my front and rear differential fluids and transfer case at 50k.

1 year and 10k miles later with the transmission fluid change , No problems with the the truck. I’ve learned it’s a good idea to take the entire transmission pan down and clean off the magnets which is what I’ll do next time.

 

Family Toyota Employee suggested replacing fluid since I do a lot of fifth wheel trailer hauling. Most senior Toyota techs agree with him.

 

My local dealer did a flush on mine using the BG machine at 60k miles. It really just replaces all the fluid and isn’t a backwash flush like some others. Cost me $340. No issues to report and it now has 65k miles.

 

65 lb-in for the tranny pan bolts. That's 5 lb-ft folks. That is literally finger tight plus a smidge.

 

I did my own at 105,000... After doing it, I'm glad I did. Having seen what came out of it, I wish I would've done it earlier. I bought my 2010 Rock Warrior in 2013 with 30,000 miles. Since then, it has towed my boat and utility trailer (2000-7000lbs) on 33's, then 34's, now on 37's. She has run great, and began to shift a little hard from first to second. Its been 2000 miles since I did the exchange, and let me say this; I dont ever remember the truck shifting this smooth and flawlessly since I've owned the truck. I exchanged mine with Valvoline Synthetic ATF. I drained from the plug, filled the pan back up, then cycled through and draining through the trans cooler, while filling at the fill plug the whole time.

 

Just did Drain and fill 135k miles, unknown fluid history. It is fairly easy. 4.5 quarts came out, 4.5 quarts went back in. I was kind of surprised, others saying 2.5 to 3.5 when they did theirs. I had to go get another quart, had only purchased 1 gallon on V. Max Life. The gallon at Walmart 17.99, quart at O'Reilly 7.99 .

Condition of old fluid seemed better than expected; purple in color somewhat translucent and maybe a very nominal amount of sediment - not brown which seems good to me. Thinking previous owner probably had it serviced at some point.

No known issues prior to fluid change with transmission, test drive after did not seem to feel any different. Maybe 10% better just knowing there is some new fluid in there.

 

Its even more important to use a torque wrench when torquing to lower specs. 300 ft lbs..... Let her ripe.